Biosecurity Fundamentals

Biosecurity for the 21st century

Understanding and preparing for pandemics in the context of rapid technological change

The world witnessed the severe humanitarian and economic repercussions of pandemic pathogens during COVID-19 crisis, and we remain ‘dangerously unprepared’ for future pandemics.

With the rate of zoonotic pathogen spread increasing and rapid technological advances in synthetic biology and AI, there exists the possibility of far deadlier pandemics, but also new opportunities to defend against them.

Navigating the coming decades will require a concerted effort from researchers, policymakers and many others. We run courses that give individuals the knowledge, skills and connections to contribute to building a safer, pandemic-proof world.

The Pandemics Course

Our online course is 12-weeks long, and can be done alongside work or study in about 5 hours per week. You’ll follow an up-to-date curriculum, supported by a trained facilitator in live small group classes.

Pandemics Course

Covers the technical and policy efforts to prevent, detect and respond to catastrophic pandemics.

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Facilitate the course

Experienced in biosecurity? Join us as a facilitator to support up and coming talent.

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Testimonials

Natalie Kiilu

Lawyer and Researcher with the Oxford Biosecurity Group

The course was a transformative experience for me. It completely reshaped my understanding of how I could contribute to a safer world. I fully credit my career pivot to biosecurity to the course.

Natalie Kiilu

Lawyer and Researcher with the Oxford Biosecurity Group

Harrison Koos

PhD Student in Health Policy / Health Economics at Stanford University

My goal was to develop a broad understanding of the biosecurity landscape and the various issues/opportunities being discussed in the field. I feel that this course did a great job covering that and more!

Harrison Koos

PhD Student in Health Policy / Health Economics at Stanford University

Nikki Aluquin

Research Assistant at SingHealth Duke-NUS Global Health Institute

I was looking for a way to pivot into biosecurity as an early-career professional, this course empowered me to do just that! It gave me a better insight into the field and an opportunity to find the gaps that I can personally work on. Since the course, I’ve been more confident to talk about biosecurity with other people and I feel more prepared to apply for related roles.

Nikki Aluquin

Research Assistant at SingHealth Duke-NUS Global Health Institute

Scott Weathers

Legislative Assistant, U.S. House of Representatives

The course had great content, high-quality instruction, and valuable relationship-building.

Scott Weathers

Legislative Assistant, U.S. House of Representatives

Alveena Zehra

Assistant Professor at the Department of Biotechnology, Jinnah University for Women

My primary goal for the course was to engage with the biosecurity community, gaining insights into global initiatives and diverse approaches for pandemic risk mitigation. I surpassed this goal by actively participating in discussions and building a valuable professional network. The exposure to different perspectives broadened my understanding of biosecurity challenges.

Alveena Zehra

Assistant Professor at the Department of Biotechnology, Jinnah University for Women

Matt Schultz

Cybersecurity Red Team Operator

I found the curated and structured learning the most valuable, along with the connections made. Getting to network with experts helped me to learn more about how I can contribute and participate in the community with my skillset.

Matt Schultz

Cybersecurity Red Team Operator

Sarah Koeller

Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics, US CDC

This was an invaluable experience that catalyzed my commitment to continue learning and contributing to the biosecurity space.

Sarah Koeller

Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics, US CDC

Olaoluwa Akinloluwa

Senior Consultant at IQVIA

I was able to significantly strengthen my understanding of the catastrophic risks pandemics pose to the world. I gained a fresh appreciation for the multi-sectoral nature of the planning and response required to prepare for and respond to a pandemic-level event. If I do gain traction this year will be in large parts due to the motivation I got from this short course.

Olaoluwa Akinloluwa

Senior Consultant at IQVIA

Grace Braithwaite

Medical Doctor

I learnt a lot about the biosecurity space - in terms of players, types of roles and technologies. I also started a practical project and became much more interested in biosecurity as a career option.

Grace Braithwaite

Medical Doctor

William Putnam

Senior Software Engineer at Meta

I learned about ways my training in technology could help to minimize biosecurity risks and potential new research areas I could pursue. I learned so much from my cohort mates and their varied perspectives.

William Putnam

Senior Software Engineer at Meta

Projects

Here are the top projects from students on our Pandemics course.

Our students work on these projects part-time for 4 weeks, applying their learnings from the course to take their next steps in biosecurity.

Disinformation Security: Making LLMs Safer by Lying to Them

By Christopher Rodriguez

Project BEACON: Using OSINT methods in BWC verification

By Neha Suresh

Explore proposals to build a pandemic-proof world with our course, designed with experts from the University of Oxford. Apply now Learn more